#' 


THE 


PRIVATE  SOLDIER 

OF  THE 


N. 


An  Address  Delivered  at  the  Unveiling  of  the  Monument 
Erected  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  to  William 
Denning,  the  Soldier  Blacksmith  of  the  Revolu- 
lution,  at  Newville,  October  6,  1890, 

BY 

WILLIAM  HENRY  EGLE,  M.  D. 


HARRISBURG,  PA. 

HARRISBUBG  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 

1890. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/privatesoldierof00egle_0 


THE  BLACKSMITH  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : We  have  come  together 
this  day  to  take  part  in  paying  respect  to  the  memory 
of  a war-veteran  of  the  Revolution ; and  it  well 
becomes- us  to  glance  over  the  history  of  that  struggle 
for  Independence  and  learn  somewhat  of  the  services 
of  a private  soldier  of  the  Pennsylvania  Line  during 
that  heroic  contest  from  1775  to  1783. 

When  the  issue  became  imminent,  in  none  of  the 
British  colonies  were  the  people  more  enthusiastic  than 
those  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania.  The  thunders 
of  Lexington  had  scarcely  ceased  reverberating  along 
the  Blue  mountains,  (North  and  South,)  when  the 
pioneers  of  the  wilderness — German  and  Scotch-Irish 
— gathered  from  hill-side  and  valley,  resolved,  “ to  do 
and  dare,”  in  defense  of  their  homes.  Equipped  in 
backwoodsmen  dress,  with  their  trust}T  rifles,  they  were 
not  long  hesitating  to  march  to  the  relief  of  the  beleag- 
ured  New  England  army  at  Boston,  and  although  the 
distance  and  difficulties  of  travel  were  greater,  they 
were  the  first  troops  west  of  the  Connecticut  river  to 
reach  the  front.  And  it  becomes  us  to  consider  who 
were  these  men,  and  what  led  them  so  promptly  to 
respond  to  the  call  of  their  oppressed  countrymen,  and 
who,  although  differing  from  them  in  ancestry  and  in 
faith,  yet  whose  wrongs  were  theirs  and  whose  rights 
they  held  in  common.  They  were  men  whose  parents 
had  fled  from  religious  and  civil  persecution  in  the 
Old  World,  and  who  had  imbibed  through  the  mater- 
nal breasts,  an  intense  hatred  for  oppression  and 


366090 


(4) 


tyranny  in  whatsoever  form  they  came.  They  were 
neither  rebellious  or  revolutionary,  but  patriots  through 
principle.  They  were  not  illiterate,  but  men  of  intel- 
ligence, these  private  soldiers,  and  I judge  this  from 
the  fact,  that  upon  the  muster-rolls,  and  in  receipts  for 
depreciation  pay,  in  existence,  it  is  rarely  that  any 
one  “ made  his  mark,”  the  name  being  written  in 
English  or  German,  as  the  case  might  be.  They  were 
also  upright,  liberty-loving,  and  God-fearing.  They 
hated  priest-craft  and  king-craft — and  cherished  the 
homes  they  made  upon  the  confines  of  civilization,  but 
when  the  cloud  of  injustice  and  intolerance  lowered, 
they  hurried  away  from  the  loved  ones,  leaving  them, 
in  numerous  instances,  to  the  mercy  of  the  marauding 
Indian  savage,  to  participate  in  the  great  up-rising 
against  British  tyranny. 

Shall  I rehearse  to  you,  the  terrible  march  through 
the  wildernesses  of  Maine  and  Canada  to  Quebec,  in 
the  early  winter  of  1775,  where,  under  Arnold,  then 
the  gallant  and  brave,  afterwards  the  despicable  traitor, 
they  suffered  from  hunger,  and  cold,  and  wounds,  and 
imprisonment — many  of  them  dying  far  away  from 
the  endeared  and  endearing? 

Shall  I repeat  to  you  the  pitiful  story  of  Fort  Wash- 
ington and  Long  Island,  where  against  greater  numbers 
and  heavier  guns,  the  red-coats  swept  down  upon  our 
poorly  equipped  patriots,  yet  with  stout  hearts  those 
strong  arms  dealt  disastrous  strokes,  and  although 
suffering  defeat,  their  defense  of  freedom’s  cause  had 
a depressing  effect  upon  the  enemy,  who  suddenly  re- 
alized the  fact  that  they  were  fighting  against  men 
whose  motives  were  just  and  purposes  pure? 


(5) 

Shall  the  splendid  victories  at  Trenton  and  Princeton 
be  forgotten — where  the  men  from  Pennsylvania  vied 
with  the  bravest  of  the  brave  — and  by  their  splendid 
achievements  wrote  high  upon  the  roll  of  fame,  their 
deeds  heroic  — which  down  to  remotest  time,  will  tell 
of  valor  won,  and  how  patriots  fought,  bled,  and  died 
for  Independence? 

I shall  be  pardoned  if  I mention  Saratoga  and  the 
surrender  of  Burgoyne,  but  it  has  been  too  frequently 
stated  that  Pennsylvania  was  absent  upon  that  particu- 
lar occasion.  Our  troops  were  there,  nevertheless,  and 
under  the  gallant  Morgan,  the  superior  riflemen  from 
beyond  the  Susquehanna  did  very  effective  work. 
From  Boston  to  Yorktown,  on  every  well-fought  battle- 
field, our  good  old  ancestors  took  a part. 

Then  again,  those  terrific  struggles  for  mastery  at 
Brandywine  and  Germantown — where  the  private 
soldier  of  the  Pennsylvania  Line,  according  to  that 
you  ag  officer  from  France,  whose  name  is  so  intimately 
interwoven  with  the  history  of  our  Revolutionary  con- 
flict— the  intrepid  and  noble  Lafayette — “What  might 
have  turned  a drawn  battle  into  an  ignominous  and 
disasterous  defeat,  was  averted  by  the  gallantry  of  the 
Pennsylvania  phalanx,  to  their  honor  and  renown  be 
it  said.” 

Shall  I picture  to  you  the  cantonment  at  Valley 
Forge — and  that  rigorous  winter  of  1777-78,  when  the 
little  band,  chiefly  from  Pennsylvania,  bare-foot  and 
half-clad,  aye  poorly  fed,  cheered  the  heart  of  their 
grand  old  commander — the  great  and  good  Washing- 
ton— by  their  vigilance,  by  their  patient  and  uncon- 
plaining  performance  of  the  severest  duties?  Truly  it 


(6) 


may  be  said,  that  lio  other  army  ever  existed,  which, 
under  the  circumstances — a populous  city  in  front,  and 
a fruitful  country  to  the  rear  — would  have  remained 
quiet  and  subordinate,  as  did  the  soldiers  at  Valley 
Forge.  Ah ! the  patriotism  of  those  gallant  men — their 
hardships  and  self-denials  — have  left  a halo  around 
the  name  of  the  American  soldier  which  shall  gleam 
the  brighter  as  the  ages  roll  on  and  on.  I consider  it 
as  one  of  the  richest  legacies  my  paternal  ancestor  left 
me — to  which  I can  point  with  rapturous  pride  — that 
he  was  a private  soldier  at  Valley  Forge! 

What  were  the  results  of  those  self-denials — the  vigi- 
lance and  alertness  of  those  brave  men  ? First  their 
enthusiastic  veneration  for  their  commander,  their  con- 
fidence in  him,  and  he  in  them — crushed  out  forever 
that  feeling  of  jealousy  — aye,  disloyalty  — among  the 
officers  who  were  clamorous  for  the  displacement  of 
Washington.  Secondly,  They  made  possible  the  evacu- 
ation of  Philadelphia  by  Howe’s  army  of  masterly  in- 
activity, which  was  by  far  a greater  blow  to  the  enemy 
than  any  defeat  by  arms  save  that  perchance  at  York- 
town. 

Shall  I refer  to  the  pursuit  of  the  British  in  1778, 
when  like  the  retreat  through  the  Jerseys  in  1776,  by 
the  Patriot  Army,  the  Pennsylvania  forces  protected 
the  rear,  and  now  the  advance — their  excellent  marks- 
men holding  the  enemy’s  cavalry  at  bay,  while  the 
army  of  Lord  Howe  kept  moving  on  to  safer  quarters 
until  they  were  obliged  to  make  a stand  at  Monmouth, 
where,  had  it  not  been  for  the  disobedience  of  an  officer 
in  command,  the  victory  would  probably  have  been 
with  the  Provincials?  As  it  was,  such  a lesson  was 


(7) 


taught  them,  that  the  British  never  ventured  to  attack 
the  latter  upon  open  ground. 

And  here  while  we  allude  to  these  martyr- 
patriots  dyed  with  crimson — let  us  not  forget,  that 
there  were  two  women,  one  at  Fort  Washington,  and 
one  at  Monmouth,  who  emulated  their  husbands  in 
heroism  and  patriotic  valor.  I refer  to  Margaret  Cor- 
bin and  Mary  McCauley.  These  women  accompanied 
their  husbands  to  the  army,  as  many  others  did.  In 
those  days,  the  washing  and  cooking  were  chiefly  done 
by  women  whose  husbands  were  private  soldiers  in  the 
war.  Margaret  Corbin  was  from  the  Cumberland  Val- 
ley, and  was  with  her  husband  who  was  in  one  of  the 
companies  attached  to  Col.  Magaw’s  Battalion  of  the 
Line.  It  was  she,  who,  before  the  surrender  at  Fort 
Washington,  when  her  husband  fell  seriously  wounded, 
took  his  place  at  the  gun  and  fired  the  last  shot  at  the 
enemy.  Lossing,  who  confounds  her  with  “ Moll 
Pitcher,”  says  what  is  not  true  of  either.  Margaret 
Corbin  after  her  release  went  to  Westmoreland  county, 
where  she  lived  many  years  enjoying  the  respect  of 
her  neighbors  and  friends — the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
acknowledging  her  valiant  services  in  the  Revolution, 
by  granting  her  an  annuity  which  enabled  her  to  live 
comfortably  in  her  declining  years. 

As  to  the  heroine  of  Monmouth,  Molly  McCauley,  or 
“ Moll  Pitcher,”  as  she  was  commonly  called,  the  story 
of  her  life  is  so  fully  known  to  the  people  of  this  Valley 
that  I shall  only  make  brief  reference.  You  have  all 
heard  how,  when  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  her  hus- 
band, John  Hay,  a bombardier  in  Procter’s  artillery, 
fell  at  his  post,  she  dropped  her  bucket  in  which  she 


(8) 

carried  water  to  the  men — hence  the  soubriquet  “ Moll 
Pitcher  ” — seized  the  rammer,  avowing  that  she  would 
fill  his  place  and  avenge  his  death.  She  performed  the 
duty  with  such  skill  and  courage,  that  it  attracted  the 
attention  of  all  who  saw  her,  and  upon  the  morrow, 
when  the  little  army  was  in  a safe  position,  she  was 
presented  to  Washington,  who  commended  her  for  her 
bravery.  Not  only  by  Congress,  but  by  her  State  wTas 
she  provided  for  in  her  old  age.  Her  remains  rest  in 
the  quiet  graveyard  at  Carlisle,  but  the  heroic  deeds 
performed  by  the  simple-minded  but  lion-hearted 
“ Moll  Pitcher”  will  live,  when  the  champions  of  other 
wars  and  other  times  shall  have  been  forgotten.  It  is 
well  to  recall  these  historic  facts,  and  I do  it  with  the 
greater  pleasure,  because  it  gives  me  the  opportunity 
to  rescue  their  names  from  the  reproach  and  obloquy 
cast  upon  them  by  the  sensational  and  slip-shod  his- 
torians of  to-day.  All  honor  to  Margaret  Corbin  and 
Mary  McCauley ! 

After  eight  years  of  severity  and  struggle,  of  self- 
denial  and  suffering,  the  conflict  for  freedom  ended, — 
the  victory  at  Yorktown  virtually  terminating  the  war 
on  the  part  of  the  British  soldiery.  Peace  brought 
with  it  the  endearments  of  home,  the  enjoyment  of  con- 
stitutional liberty  unequalled  in  the  world’s  history, 
and  the  blessings  of  fruitful  lands.  And  yet,  the  men 
whose  lives  had  been  exposed  during  that  eventful  era 
to  all  the  vicissitudes  of  war,  returned  illy  prepared  to 
again  encounter  the  trials  and  turmoils  of  business  or 
labor.  The  greater  portion  were  broken  down  in 
health — and  others  with  maimed  and  torn  limbs  drag- 
ged themselves  through  the  world  homeless  and  friend- 


(9) 


less,  depending  entirely  upon  the  beggarly  pittance  of 
a mean  pension,  the  best  perchance  the  young  govern- 
ment could  afford — but  far  from  being  a reward  for  the 
services  performed  in  accomplishing  independence.  It 
has  been  wondered  why,  that  from  the  close  of  the  Re- 
volution, for  several  decades,  most  of  the  inns  and 
taverns  were  kept  by  the  soldiers  of  that  war.  Then 
the  keeping  of  an  ordinary  was . considered  an  hon- 
orable employment,  and,  incapable  of  manual  pursuits, 
this  vocation  suited  them.  It  was  there,  too,  that  on 
Freedom’s  natal  day  these  heroes  annually  gathered 
to  recount  the  incidents  of  the  war,  and  if  they  did 
occasionally  get  a little  full  of  old  rye  in  remembrance 
of  “ auld  lang  syne,”  we  cannot  blame  them.  They 
lived  in  another  age,  and  in  another  atmosphere  than 
we.  Some  of  my  lady  friends  may  not  like  to  hear  it, 
but  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  many  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary ancestors  of  the  present  leading  people  kept  a 
tavern  in  the  olden  time,  and  yet  this  is  to  their  credit, 
not  otherwise. 

I now  come  to  speak  of  the  events  which  to-day  have 
called  us  together — for  what  purpose,  and  in  whose 
honor. 

When  hostilities  began,  with  the  exception  of  the 
trusted  rifle  of  the  pioneer,  most  of  the  arms  were  in 
possession  of  the  troops  and  the  civil  officers  of  the 
crown  of  Great  Britain.  For  a supply  of  small  arms 
there  was  little  difficulty  in  securing.  Among  the 
German  inhabitants  of  Pennsylvania,  there  were  many 
whose  trade  of  gunsmith  had  been  in  the  settlements  a 
lucrative  and  busy  occupation — and  so  when  the  de- 
mand came,  these  men  by  direction  of  the  Congress 


(10) 


established  large  manufactories  at  Allentown,  Reading, 
Lebanon,  Hummelstown,  Middletown,  Lancaster,  and 
other  points  in  Pennsylvania,  while  men  qualified  as 
artificers,  were  excused  from  other  military  service, 
and  sent  where  their  skilled  labor  was  required.  If, 
therefore,  the  Germans  of  Pennsylvania  were  tardy  in 
enlisting  for  the  war,  they  were  industrious  and  inde- 
fatigable in  the  making  of  arms  and  ammunition — and 
unstinted  in  the  furnishing  of  food  and  blankets  to  the 
Army  of  the  Declaration.  To  them  there  is  gratitude 
due — and  we  should  not  be  slow  in  acknowledging  it. 

In  the  matter  of  large  or  field  guns,  the  case  was 
different.  There  were  numerous  furnaces  and  forges 
of  iron  in  the  colonies,  but  few  experiments  had  been 
made  except  with  cast-iron — and  these  were  dangerous 
from  overcharging.  At  the  outset,  companies  of  artil- 
lery artificers  were  enlisted,  and  to  them  were  commit- 
ted the  forging  of  arms  and  the  preparation  of  weapons 
for  defense.  Conspicuous  among  these  was  Col.  Jedu- 
than  Baldwin’s  regiment  of  the  Continental  Line.  Of 
this  command,  the  New  Jersey  company  of  Captain 
Jeremiah  Bruen,  was  stationed  at  Mount  Holly,  that 
State,  where  iron-works  had  been  established  for  years. 
In  this  company  was  William  Denning,  a blacksmith, 
yet  a skilled  mechanician,  and  whose  worthy  deeds  in 
that  war  suggested  the  erection  of  this  monument  to 
his  memory.  Little  is  known  of  his  history,  save  that 
he  volunteered  early  in  the  contest  for  liberty,  and  was 
at  Mount  Holly,  until  just  prior  to  the  occupation  of 
Philadelphia  by  the  British,  when  by  order  of  the 
Congress  all  the  artificers  were  ordered  to  Washington- 
burg,  (afterwards  the  United  States  Barracks,)  near 


(11) 


Carlisle,  where  their  work  was  resumed  Here  William 
Denning  was  transferred  to  Captain  Worsley  Emesr 
company  of  the  Pennsylvania  Line,  and  in  recognition 
of  his  services  in  connection  therewith,  was  pensioned 
by  the  State  and  National  Governments.  A skilled 
workman  he  undoubtedly  was,  and  cannon  manufac- 
tured under  his  supervision  were  used  not  only  during 
the  Revolution,  but  in  the  War  of  1812-14,  although 
greater  facilities  enabled  the  making  of  better  guns 
than  those  so  rudely  constructed  during  the  years 
177G  and  1777.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  some  of 
these  were  forged  at  Middlesex,  Cumberland  county, 
this  State,  but  the  Mount  Holly  mentioned  in  all  refer- 
ences, was  undoubtedly  Mount  Holly,  New  Jersey. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  William  Denning,  by  his  ingenuity 
and  skill  in  iron-work,  deserves  this  monument.  His 
is  the  record  of  a patriot,  and  an  expert  craftsman. 
He  passed  most  of  the  days  of  his  long  life  in  this 
locality,  and  died  here  on  the  19th  of  December,  1830, 
in  his  ninety-fourth  year.  Verily  an  extended  life — - 
but  one  of  honor  and  usefulness.  He  saw  the  country, 
when  much  of  it  was  an  untrodden  wilderness  ; — He 
beheld  the  gleaming  of  the  British  guns,  as  the  Cross 
of  St.  George  replaced  the  Lilies  of  France  on  our 
Western  borders ; — he  heard  the  roll  of  the  drums 
which  aroused  the  land  to  deeds  of  valor  in  freedom’s 
cause ; — He  witnessed  the  descent  of  the  Dove  of  Peace 
upon  a land  disenthralled — redeemed — the  home  of  a 
liberty-loving  and  God-fearing  people.  And  this  pan- 
orama of  the  doings  of  nearly  a century  passed  before 
him.  Yonder  granite  monolith,  surmounted  by  a 
representation  of  a wrought  iron  cannon,  is  the  first 


(12) 


monument  erected  by  any  State  of  the  Union  to  record 
the  deeds  of  a private  soldier  of  the  Army  of  Independ- 
ence, and  we  are  proud  of  the  fact. 

I trust  that  what  has  been  here  done,  will  teach  the 
youth  of  the  State  lessons  of  patriotism,  that  it  will 
firmly  instil  into  them  the  principles  of  constitutional 
liberty,  and  lead  them  to  honor  and  venerate  the 
achievements  of  the  heroes  of  those  dark  and  trying 
hours  in  our  history  as  a people.  If  these  but  follow, 
then  will  this  monument  serve  a nobler  and  a grander 
purpose  than  the  mere  marking  the  resting  place  of  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution. 

William  Denning  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Re- 
public, as  were  all  the  men  who  fought  upon  the  side 
of  Independence;  just  as  much  so  as  those  who  in  the 
councils  of  the  nation  loomed  up  above  their  fellows — 
just  as  much  so  as  those  to  whom  monuments  have 
been  reared  all  over  our  country  to  perpetuate  to  futu- 
rity the  virtues  and  bravery  of  an  officer  of  the  Revolu- 
tion— just  as  much  so  as  the  few  whom  historians  have 
vaunted  into  fame  and  glory  by  disparaging  the  many 
who  were  good  and  true,  loyal  and  patriotic. 

If  there  is  any  doctrine  to  be  taught  by  the  services 
of  this  day,  it  is  this,  that  if  our  ancestors  established 
this  Republic  through  the  baptism  of  blood,  then 
ought  we  to  perpetuate  the  Union,  at  whatever  cost  of 
life  or  property.  God  grant  that  the  civil  strife  which 
scourged  the  land  a quarter  of  a century  ago  may  never 
find  its  counterpart  in  the  ages  following  on.  But, 
there  is  need  of  patriotic  resolve,  of  vigilance,  and 
Christian  duty  in  every  era ; and  if  this  granite  block 
means  anything,  it  tells  us  of  the  untiring  industry 


(13) 


which  goes  rewarded,  of  self-sacrifice  to  the  call  of 
one’s  fatherland  which  accomplishes  the  prosperity  of 
nations  and  the  success  of  peoples,  and  above  all,  that 
loyalty  to  country  and  to  God  is  the  supreme  aim  and 
object  of  every  citizen.  Let  us  not  forget ,-  as  we  turn 
away  from  the  ceremonies  of  this  hour,  that  valor  and 
industry  go  hand  in  hand;  and  these  characteristics 
entered  largely  in  the  make-up  of  him,  whose  remains 
rest  in  this  charming  God’s  acre — William  Denning, 
the  Soldier-Artificer  of  the  Revolution ! 


hfk 


